100,000 People Overpaid Power of Attorney Fees – Do You Qualify for a Refund? How Can You Reclaim?

The new scheme was launched on the 1^st of February of this year and aims to return the overpaid fee back to those who applied for lasting or enduring powers of attorney between the 1^st April 2013 – 31^st March 2017.

The reason for the confusion of the price is down to the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) operating costs. The price should have reduced due to the process becoming more efficient. As the process became easily accessible, more people applied to register a power of attorney with the old cost.

The new scheme allows those who applied for lasting power of attorney (LPA) and enduring power of attorney (EPA) can claim a refund if they qualify.

Please note: you can only claim the refund if you made the power of attorney in England or Wales.

Who can claim a refund?

For anyone who applied for lasting or enduring power of attorney between 1^st April 2013 and 31^st March 2017.

You will be able to make a claim as:

• The ‘donor’ – this is the person who made the power of attorney.
• An ‘attorney’ appointed by the donor in an LPA or EPA

Only one claim is required, this is made by the donor. The refund must always be paid to the donor.

How to claim

Claiming for your refund is very simple.

Claim online – it takes around 10 minutes and you will require the donor’s UK bank account number and sort code.

Claim by phone – If you do not have access to a computer or you struggle to use one, then you can claim by phone. If the donor doesn’t have a UK bank account or you’re a court-appointed deputy, you must claim by phone. You can do this by calling 0300 456 0300 (choose option 6).

If the donor has died

If the donor has sadly passed away, then you’ll need to provide the following documents before you make the claim:

• Death certificate of the deceased donor.
• Grant of representation (grant of probate or letters of administration).

You can then email the document to poarefunds@justice.gsi.gov.uk or by post to:

POA Refunds Team,
7th Floor, Office of the Public Guardian,
PO Box 16185,
Birmingham,
B2 2WH

(addresses available on the gov.uk website)

What happens after the claim is made?

Your claim will be reviewed – this can take up to 12 weeks. If the claim is approved, then the refund will be paid to the donor’s bank account.